Football

Saturday was the last home game of the season... 
which always makes me sad.
Athens on game day is my favorite place to be, and this weekend we played Tech... and the Dawgs did us proud. ;)

It was a noon game, which is kind of the pits. But we made the best of it... mimosas are kind of my  new favorite thing now.

Saturday night we went downtown with friends and had a blast, as per usual.

Now why do weekends ever have to end??
The countdown to Christmas break has officially started... because I'm pretty much dreading class tomorrow morning.

Back Between the Hedges

I hadn't been to a home game since September, so it was so wonderful to be back between the hedges to cheer on the Dawgs against Georgia Southern.

and not only that, but my sweet family was able to come to Athens for their first game day experience this Saturday! They had so much fun tailgating and being in Sanford, they're already trying to figure out a way to make an appearance at this weekend's game. Which just makes my heart so happy!

On a side note: we don't live very far from Athens, so the fact that this was their first UGA game is slightly ridiculous... and Mama & Daddy have already apologized for depriving us during our childhood. 

Ben came to Athens for the game this weekend too, so it was so nice to spend some quality time with him. The past few times we've gotten together on weekends have been with groups of people.. so it was nice to have time to ourselves again.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend. We celebrated Jasmine's birthday, celebrated another win with the Dawgs, hit up downtown with friends, and started this Thanksgiving Break off RIGHT.

How was YOUR weekend? 
Absolutely wonderful I hope!

Savannah

We chose Savannah for our half marathon for several reasons: it's flat, it has perfect weather in November, and the city is beautiful.

On race day we had to wake up at 4:15AM in order to get to our parking spot before the roads were closed off... so by that afternoon we were pretty exhausted. We took a quick nap and then hit River Street Saturday night for a few beers, some pralines, and a delicious dinner after all of those calories we burned off.

We had dinner at Fiddler's Crab House on River Street, and we ate on the porch so we could overlook the river. The atmosphere down there is just so much fun.

 I had some shrimp and grits, which were: to. die. for.

and after dinner we went to "World of Beer".... hello my new favorite bar. 

I'm a beer girl, and this place blew my mind with the amount of beer they have on tap and on the menu.

My word.

They even do beer cocktails... it was an excellent reward after all of that running!

That sums up the rest of our Saturday in Savannah... now I'm dying to go back. I would kill for a few more pralines right about now. This time change has killed me this week!

Happy Friday friends!!

13.1

What a surreal feeling, to finally have my first half marathon behind me.
After spending the last few months training for it, it's hard to let it fully sink in that it's OVER.

The race itself was hands down one of the most incredible things I've ever experienced, I don't even know how to put it all into words. The first ten miles went by so quickly, I've never had a run feel THAT effortless. The entire stretch of the course there were people cheering us on, with hilarious posters and offering so much encouragement. It just made me so emotional to have complete strangers cheering me on, especially after how hard I had worked to be there. I'm a sentimental nut.. but I really kept getting teared up the whole race.

Around mile 10 is when my knees really started hurting, and at the water station I took my first walking break as I drank my water.. but what a mistake! As much as you think a quick walking break will make your body feel a little better, it makes it hurt so much more to start running again. Once I picked back up I just kept repeating to myself "JUST. KEEP. GOING." over and over. The last few miles seemed to drag... and mile 13 I thought would NEVER end. It seemed like 3 miles instead of one. Finally rounding the corner to see that finish line was so rewarding.

My goal for the race was 2:30.. and my time ended up being 2:28:02 so I was thrilled considering it's my first one! I ran my Nike Running app during the race so I could look at my breakdown for each mile, and my paces for several miles are the same, down to the second. So I was very pleased that I was able to maintain a consistent pace throughout.

 I really can't stress enough how incredible training for a half, and finally completing one can be. I thought it seemed impossible, and I would never be able to tackle it. But I'm telling you right now, it's doable. I could barely run a mile in May without feeling like death, and now I can complete 13.1? It's unreal how much you can push your body and overcome things you never dreamed you were capable of. If it's one of those things you've always wanted to do, I'm telling you now to DO IT. I promise you won't regret it. You will hate running some days, and question yourself over why you put yourself through it, but you will learn to love it on others... and the accomplishment is so rewarding.

The Rock 'n' Roll Savannah half marathon is definitely happening again next year, and I'm so thankful for all of you who sent me emails and information about your training plans. You all helped me tremendously!

Homecoming

My beautiful little sister, Mallory, made Senior Homecoming Court at the high school.. and looked absolutely stunning on the field Friday night (If I do say so myself).

Senior year is such a blast, and Homecoming festivities were one of my favorite things, so it's been so fun to live vicariously through Mal as she goes through all of it this year. All of the girls had gorgeous dresses... it really made me miss those dress shopping days!

We're so proud of our little Mal!! 

Next post: A recap of GA/FL.

Get ready for it.

;)

Happy November 1st y'all!

Where has this year gone?!